20040726   

the problem with quitting

Michael considered fate at 17:55   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

When you give your notice at work you automatically create a new dilemme: what to do for the remaining time you have at work. Sure, it's awfully tempting to just keep on working like you have been but, oh come on, that's not going to happen.. so instead it's just twiddling my thumbs and looking at porn and trying to figure out how to scam a new ipod without breaking the bank. Instead of working I get coffee and then a little more coffee, and then I veg-out for awhile in front of the computer screen not even looking at anything. Just staring forward at java code that does something for someone, somewhere.. and I think they actually like it. I'm not sure, I wasn't paying attention frankly.

So now it's to the point where I don't even cover up the dirty little peeks into other people's lives. I don't even stick my little pinky out to the edge of the keyboard to snap down upon the tab key as my thumb holds the alt key hostage when my boss comes around. He just looks at the screen and wonders about the pink text and buzznet photos and he shrugs.

Must be doing research for some java technology, he figures. Well, more like he figures it just doesn't matter. "You've always got your finger in something, don't you?" he asks. He doesn't so much mind since I end up getting some work done here and there and heck - what does it matter what I do with my time, longs as Ima doin something fer work, right?

Right?

Them politicians are upset these days because we're behind in broadband connections. There are other countries out there - *gasp* - that have a greater percentage of households wired up to the big innernector. They think it's gonna get in the way of new job creation..

Yah, new job creation cause every is sitting at work surfing the web and writing blogs..

I wish.. I really wish.. that we could just slack off a bit. Relax the work week. Increase vacation. We work more than pretty much every nation in the world - and to what end? Sure, we're number one numero uno superpower extraordinare, etc, etc.. but we're not exactly what you could call efficient, either.

No wonder we don't like trains. Sure, Europe has the great excuse that the landsize is relatively small compared to the wide-open expanse of the United States and thus trains are more effective.. but in addition to that they just have more free time. With close to a month of vacation, multi-hour lunchtime fiestas, and a sub 35-hour workweek, they can stand to sit on a train for a few minutes.. Time is not nearly the commodity there that it is here. We don't know what we're missing out on. We could be, if we tried, really damn chill.

If I were President the standard work week would change to four 9-hr days. Three day weekends. Three weeks of vacation would be standard and sick time would accumulate. By law.

Corporations would get tons of tax breaks but only if they took care of their employees. They would be held accountable for unsafe and poorly built products. Consumers would legally be allowed to bill companies for their time. Cable man never show up? Send Time Warner a bill. $40 sounds about right. I think that's what my dentist charges if I'm 15 minutes late. Well under my laws I'd be able to charge him for being late. Professional sports, being a monopoly of sorts, would be regulated. Ticket prices would be controlled although salary caps would not be.

Every year the good people of the country would be able to vote on which company was the most corrupt and evil corporation and whichever they voted... would be disbarred, disbanded, stripped down, and auctioned off - piecemeal.

Weed would be legalized and alcohol would be illegalized - but just enough to make it fun. Major diplomatic disputes would be solved by sending both offending parties years supplies of swedish fish labelled as if they had sent them to eachother.

Goddamn, I gave my notice. I almost think that gives my company the right to send me a bill for all the slacking-off I've been doing this summer. Luckily, they like me..

Telecommuting here I come.